Where is moganshan china

What to Know As early as the s, Moganshan was a booming summer hot spot for wealthy Shanghai residents seeking refuge from the city swelter. Over the next century, visitors built more than European-style stone mansions among the hills, where a thriving community included all the necessities of the time: churches, tennis courts, banks, bookstores, bakeries, and swimming pools.

Following the war, the Communist party took control of the land and, still today, manages dozens of the remaining villas. Since then, the area has largely stayed off the radar of most international jet-setters. But in the past five years, Moganshan has begun a slow ascent to its former glory days with new generation of boutique hotels and lodges popping up across the hillside.

The farmhouse-style address feels nostalgic, thanks to antique mosaic floor tiles, French furniture, and historic local images strewn throughout the property.

The bamboo was chopped down to enhance the views of the surrounding hills. People summered in Moganshan, relaxing, attending parties and taking part in community activities that ranged from hiking and tennis tournaments to music concerts. To get to Moganshan from Shanghai nowadays is fairly straightforward.

A high-speed train — sleek and air-conditioned — whisks travellers in a couple of hours down to the nearest station, Deqing, from where a RMB taxi journey to the hill area itself takes around 50 minutes. You can enjoy the cooling bamboo breezes just three hours after leaving Shanghai. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, however, this journey was significantly more difficult.

Once finally at the foot of Moganshan, the wealthy arrivals were carried on sedan chairs up the hillside by long-suffering locals. The whole journey took between 38 and 48 hours. Shanghai summers really are hot. With new residents unable to maintain these once luxurious homes, many fell into disrepair or were left to languish, unused, for decades.

The pine trees in the English gardens grew tall and unkempt; the bamboo returned, blocking out the views; and the swimming pools were drained and used for storage. Moganshan the hillside summer retreat had gone into hibernation. Ironically, it would take another foreigner in Shanghai — a British man named Mark Kitto — to re-energise Moganshan. Kitto, in search of a rural idyll, stumbled upon the area in the late s or early s.

He would become the first foreigner in decades to live on the hillside, renovating an old villa into a guest house. Where he led, others soon followed: more new hotels were opened, and Moganshan was back on the tourist map. Nowadays, Moganshan and the 20 or so surrounding villages have a plethora of accommodation. Many of the surviving villas have been converted into hotels or renovated by private owners, while others are occupied by local tenants.

Others remain abandoned. This gives the region a romantically deserted feeling, despite the increasing numbers of people visiting each year. Sunny Wang, owner of Moganshan Solvang Village hotel , says the majority of her visitors come to refresh themselves in nature.

They read books, drink locally grown green tea or do yoga — all perfect activities for the summer months. Buses run every half hour approx. It may be convenient to book a car from your hotel as the cost is similar to a taxi, but your driver is guaranteed to know the correct destination.

The tourist area on top of the mountain is relatively small; there are numerous meandering footpaths that pass by bamboo forests, tea fields, and old stone houses. There is a nice park with walking trails at the very top of the mountain. Half way up is the center of the quaint village, made mainly of stone houses, many of which were built in the early s.

Below the village is a series of pools and waterfalls that go down a steep canyon. You will need your Moganshan entry ticket to go all the way in. Known for a relaxing time, you can enjoy the fresh air and beautiful views, be at one with the forest, read a book, go for a hike, sit in a hammock, or try some delicious local beer and cuisine. The villages boast many small and inexpensive guest houses that offer nice rooms with en suite and full board if required.

The non-Chinese speaker will find communication difficult, but be brave, use the "phone a friend" system and it will be OK. The multi-story homes with large signs are usually guest houses.